OWENSBORO, Ky. (12/30/13) - The holidays are a time spent with families, creating moments of laughter, love and sentimental memories.

But for many families, it is also a time of gluttony. Food is something that can be cherished in homes, where bonding happens over the dining room table. Some larger families buy in bulk for the holidays, with mostly processed foods, and find they themselves eating unhealthily.

The clean eating epidemic has swept across America in the last few years and many people suggest that it is the simplest way to begin a healthy lifestyle for the new year. Clean eating actually means to keep your diet simple — throw away processed foods, artificial flavorings and colors. The easiest way to remember to stay clean is to keep the ingredients in the food consumed to the bare minimum.

Clean eating is NOT a diet. It can include meat, grains, and natural sugars. Along with these things, eaters should add more vegetables and organic ingredients.

“Clean eating really works, because it really is about a lifestyle rather than just a diet or counting calories,” said Erin Stamper, blogger for Eat Lightly, Breathe Deeply, a website dedicated to a clean eating lifestyle.

Stamper’s blog, and Instagram account with the same name, offer healthy meal choices, ways for better wellness and an all-around healthier lifestyle. She started it for friends and family, but also to keep herself on the healthy track, as well.

“It’s been proven that you can eat junk food and lose weight as long as you’re in a calorie deficit, but you’re not truly providing the best fuel for your body,“ according to Stamper. “Clean eating focuses on unprocessed foods that contain essential nutrients.”

Substituting one meal a day and slowly increasing clean meals is a nutritious way to get started with the healthier, clean lifestyle, says Stamper. And since clean eating is not a diet, eaters don’t have to give up everything you love to become healthier. Dessert is my guilty pleasure, and Stamper gives some healthy alternatives on ELBD such as yummy ‘Skinny Brownies’ containing only nine ingredients and do not include white flour, butter, or oil.

Stamper believes that the new year is the perfect time to start a clean lifestyle.

“I’m a firm believer in the phrase, ‘let food be thy medicine’, because what you put into your body really affects your energy and what you get out of it,” said Stamper.